Diabetes Forum

Hey everyone! I was so shocked and excited to find this group involving Dr. Bernstein! I was a former patient of his and went into his treatment plan 2 months after my diagnosis. I was treated very…Continue

Dr. De Vany said: "...no one can hit those numbers (ie the optimal numbers Dr. Bernstein recommends in his book) and you should not run your life by them. People who live by the numbers are miserable…Continue

Hello everyone!I was super excited to find this group! I'm a Type 1, diagnosed just a couple years ago at age 22. I have been trying to eat low-carb for about a year, on and off, both to keep my…Continue

I'm new here, recommended to this group specifically. My original doctor was Lowell Gerber, a Maine cardiologist who recommended ketosis to me.I'm following a modified Atkins diet, about 20 mg net…Continue

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I have had electrolyte problems at times. Too much potassium (Hyperkalemia) can be a problem. But hyperkalemia generally only occurs when you take too many supplements or have kidney problems or similar things. It is pretty impractical to get hyperkalemia from whole foods.

DWQ, now that you post a list like that, maybe Im getting too much potassium! I eat all the foods you mentioned constantly. Thanks for the list. With that theory out, Ill just have to wait and see what the labs show is going on.

Yes... When I had my high blood pressure issues, I looked up a LOT of foods high in potassium to eat... And never really had any bananas. Many nuts, for example, are very high in potassium, including pistachios, avocados, broccoli, carrots, bok choy, ice burg lettuce, etc. Here's a really good list of foods and how much potassium they have... http://www.buzzle.com/articles/high-potassium-foods-list-of-foods-h...

On the potassium front, it is nutritionist baloney that bananas are a good source of potassium. A 1/2 c of cooked spinach has as much potassium as a banana. There are many Dr. B friendly sources of potassium.

So for my yesterday of 4u, to onesaint...I had 8oz of V8juice with some carrot juice included in the morning when I had the 2.6 blood sugar and did not take any insulin until around 3pm when I took 2u humalog and 2u Humalog around 9pm when I was still 6.8, but by after midnight I was 11.x as a result of the 3oz of meat and release from the liver...and decided to take 3u long acting Lantus hoping to awake with energy and get lots done tomorrow....but I went to bed and could not sleep, so I had to come and answer FHS's question and here I am drinking Pinot Noir and eating peanuts in the shell...so there goes my weight loss. I'll have to make up for it with exercise.

I did only walk 1 hour that day before yesterday. But when I walk 10-12km I invariably only need 4u the next day and that is because I average between 15-20u when totally sedentary and that is because I am a serious low carber in a way no one else would want to emulate.

My 15-20u is for days with no exercise and that is what causes my weight gain. I used to be 124 lbs in 2005, when I did regular 10km walks and just 129 in Feb 2010 so my being 139 has me feeling very annoyed at myself and it was due mostly to taking more insulin on some days, even over 30u which is a big mistake for me. I will never follow doctors orders as it would result in weight gain. Each person gets to know what is best for themselves, from all the testing we all do.

I rarely buy cheese as I like it too much and it is salty. I also avoid, but succumb to deli meats sometimes and always end up over eating when I do, same for deli coleslaw...that is why I am anti MSG because I know how it affects all of us...we eat more than we should and they like it as they sell more.

The ketostix is a Dr Atkins trick of his trade as an indicator of when a person enters the fat burning mode and I make a point of staying in light ketones and I know how lousy I feel when I get into the top grade ketones which happened on a faulty batch of Lantus and I had to take Humalog just to regain feeling human again.

So, to answer FHS's question, I re read each page in the Diabetes Solution Bernstein book, tonight, that referenced ketones and he is not in favour of ketones as is Dr Atkins who stresses that it is key to losing weight. And yes it is, but my only complaint about Dr Atkins is that he says go ahead and have sour cream as if it doesn't matter how much fat you have as you're wasting some of it anyway as incompletely burned fat. He is correct in that, but I think it is dangerous for Dr Atkins to have implied that it doesn't matter how much you have because the truth is that calories still do count and I don't recommend being liberal with fats. I know because I've gained weight, but it would have been from those days where I increased my insulin to the point where I had no ketones. I tried that to get more energy, but it only packed on the fat.

So I would say Dr Atkins is in favour of ketones, but Dr Bernstein recommends ketostix just to be used for sick days, I suppose when he suspects people are undereating. Dr Atkins would hope that everyone on a weight loss diet should be undereating as that is the whole point of weight loss. So that is why he suggests the ketostix and why I suggest you save money and get the KetoDiastix as a diabetic should always monitor both. Dr Atkins would say it is only when both ketones and glucose are high that it is to be of concern as that is Diabetic KetoAcidosis.

If you get in that state...just drink a lot of water, as much as you can to water it down and get it out of your system. I don't go to the hospital as I know better what to do. When I was taken to a hospital in 2002, they went overboard and put over 40 lbs of liquid into me in just over three days, and I will not forgive them for that...my GP says they purposely go overboard when someone is dehydrated from vomiting, but I think adding 40 lbs to combat 4 lbs of dehydration is criminal behaviour. I don't sue a publically funded hospital, but I will make a point of this forever, as I got neuropathy as a result of that mistreatment and I don't have any desire to spend any time in a hospital.

So because I am drinking red wine, basically almost dry and I know it has a profound impact on how the liver does not release glycogen, I will not take more insulin until I see the result tomorrow morning. I am an expert in my own care and I believe each of us has to become an expert in our own situation. Each of us should be doing lots of experiments on ourselves. Doctors should be consultants and then we choose which of their directives we follow based on our own analysis. Their input is worth considering but in context of your own experience because you have more direct experience with what works for you.

My blood pressure is low to normal because of a low carb lifestyle for so long and also doing 35 chelation treatments between 2000 to 20005. When you see the results of the NIH study in 2012 you can be sure I will be defending chelation, no matter which the outcome is for the study. Personally I know it works=two solved frozen shoulders for me, in 2000 and in 2008, both times due to too much yogurt and excess calcium and high blood sugars as a result.

Too bad bananas are so high carb. I get a lot of sodium from cheese & meat & drink a lot of water. I'm thirsty frequently & not related to high numbers.

Sorry, not aware of burning ketones impacting or eliminating high BP other than as relating to weight loss in general being helpful to lowering BP. You probably need to up the exercise to get the ole metabolism going. Consistent exercise also lowers BP. Is your BP high frequently, or is just from one or two tests? BP is as variable as BG, even more so. A couple of tests in a doctor's office mean nothing. Many nurses don't even take BP properly. At your appt, don't talk while your pressure is being taken.

Gerri, I presume I'm not getting much potassium but am getting roughly 16-1800mg of sodium a day. Its hard to avoid with cheese and meats. Interestingly enough, Ive become more sensitive to the salty taste.

Ill ask for a mineral workup if its not already done come monday.

I was under the impression that burning the keytones helps eliminate high BP and what not.

Janina, you took a total of 4u for the day? Thats sans dinner, but still. I cant imagine a T1 on only 4u-6u a day. How much walking do you do? Did you eat anything beyond the 3oz of hamburger?

I used to avg about 70u+ with basal at 40-45u and the rest on meals. These days I avg 35u+ with 30u for basal and the rest on carbs/protein. I have started to reduce my basal rates as well, as I end up adding carbs when going low. Im 6' 203lbs. I think loosing 25-30lbs would help both the BP and the TDD.

On the BP front, everywhere that I look says LC should lower blood pressure. I dunno whats going on then.

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